A banknote sorting apparatus (referred to as sorting apparatus for short) is used for sorting and classifying banknotes put into a banknote inlet according to a sorting parameter set by a user so that banknotes in the banknote inlet are conveyed to different banknote outlets according to user needs. The sorting parameter includes currency type, denominations, orientations and versions of banknotes, as well as characteristic values for reflecting the quality of banknotes, such as brightness values, pollution degree values and the like of banknotes.
In general, a manufacturer of the sorting apparatus uniformly configures the sorting parameter of the sorting apparatus as a default value (hereinafter referred to as an original sorting parameter) before the sorting apparatus leaves a factory. However, since different financial institutions have different sorting demands, banks and other final institutions generally need professional operators to reset the sorting parameters of the sorting apparatuses according to banknote classification needs of the financial institutions after purchasing the sorting apparatuses. For example, the operator of one financial institution sets the sorting parameter so that the sorting apparatus sorts and recycles banknotes less than 70% new as banknotes unsuitable for circulation. In an existing art, the operator firstly sets the sorting parameter according to a preset standard template which is a banknote satisfying a set condition, then estimates the characteristic value of the standard template by visual observation, and sets the sorting parameter of the sorting apparatus according to the characteristic value. The banknote classification need of the financial institution needs to be determined jointly by multiple standard templates. For example, when the financial institution sorts and recycles banknotes less than 70% new as banknotes unsuitable for circulation, conditions of banknotes are affected by parameters that reflect the quality of banknotes; the parameters that reflect the quality of banknotes include the brightness value, the pollution value, a graffiti value, a fold length, a crease length, a hole diameter, a broken corner area, a folded corner area, a tear length, a missing edge length and the like; and therefore, when the sorting parameters are set, all parameters that reflect the quality of banknotes must be set to determine the conditions of banknotes. However, these parameters are hard to be embodied on one standard template (i.e., one banknote). The sorting parameters of the sorting apparatus need to be determined jointly by a plurality of standard templates in the existing art. For example, a standard template 1 is used for determining the brightness value of the banknote; a second template 2 is used for determining the pollution degree value of the banknote; and a standard template 3 is used for determining the diameter of the hole in the banknote, etc. When the sorting parameters of the sorting apparatus are set, the operator estimates the characteristic value of each standard template by visually observing the standard template, and assigns values to the sorting parameters by an input apparatus of the sorting apparatus.
As the above parameters are difficult to be quantified, the operator hardly distinguishes the difference between the characteristic value of the standard template and a value of the original sorting parameter through visual observation, thereby causing great difficulty in setting sorting apparatus parameters. In addition, since a process of estimating the characteristic value of the standard template by visual observation is greatly influenced by personal observation ability and work experience of the operator, for the same standard template, the characteristic values of the standard template obtained by visual observation by different operators are different. Therefore, the process of estimating the characteristic value of the standard template by visual observation may cause poor parameter setting consistency of the sorting apparatus, thereby resulting in inaccurate sorting and classification results of the sorting apparatus.
With respect to the problem of great difficulty in setting the sorting apparatus parameters in the existing art, no effective solution is put forward at present.